McGrath Institute Blog

Somewhere between New Hampshire and November, American Catholics enter an increasingly complicated conversation with their fellow citizens. Navigating contests of “powerful interests, partisan attacks, sound bites, and media hype,” Catholics seek guidance from their Church in creating “a different kind of political engagement: one shaped by the moral convictions of well-formed consciences and focused on the dignity of every human being, the pursuit of the common good, and the protection of the weak and the vulnerable.”[1] But conscience formation begins long before faithful citizens find their updated voting guides and issue scorecards. It begins with an invitation, and an act of discipleship, and Eucharist. Faithful citizenship begins with Jesus Christ.

Thirty years ago, we stood with Ray Kinsella in an Iowa cornfield, where we heard a voice say for the first time, “If you build it, he will come.” Hailed by sports and cinema enthusiasts alike as one of the greatest baseball movies of all time, Field of Dreams has consistently moved audiences precisely because it’s about so much more than baseball. It’s about hearing, accepting, and sharing a call. It’s about perseverance in uncertainty and adversity. But more than anything, it’s about reconciliation.

“The social message of the Gospel must not be considered a theory,
but above all else a basis and a motivation for action.”
—John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, §57i

Practicing Hospitality, Welcoming Life

A consistent life ethic begins at home. Mother Teresa, one of the most beloved canonized saints of the 20th century and a great defender of human dignity, said very simply in her acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize: 

Followers of the University of Notre Dame’s athletic programs are well aware of the Irish heritage of Notre Dame’s student body. But many of these same followers may be surprised to discover the French roots of Notre Dame.